William PAYNE (1565 – 1648) was Alex’s 12th Great Grandfather; one of 8,192 in this generation in the Shaw line.

The Arms of Payne of Hengrave, William’s grandfather: “Argent on a fess engrailed Gules between three martlets Sable, as many mascles or, within a bordure engrailed of the second, charged with fourteen bezants. Crest : a Wolf’s head erased bezantee.”

At first I couldn’t find a picture that matches this description and made this close approximation

Payne Coat of Arms Sussex, not exact, but pretty close. Instead of these three roses, the arms of Payne of Hen grave should have three golden mascles ( diamond-shaped charges, with diamond shaped holes.) It’s also missing a bordure engrailed of the second, charged with fourteen bezants (yellow circles or gold coins).

(I finally found from a 1912 book “The Paynes of Hamilton” from Open Library.org )

William Payne was born 2 Dec 1565 in Lavenham, Suffolk, England. His parents were Anthony PAYNE and Martha CASTELL. He married Agnes NEVES 28 Dec 1584 in Lavenham, Suffolk, England. William died 21 Nov 1648 in Lavenham, Suffolk, England .

William was Lord of the Manor of Nowton from 1606 to 1625 having purchased it from his nephew for 3000. He buried inside St James Nowton, a church dating from late Norman times

Agnes Neves was born 1563 in Lavenham, Suffolk, England. Her parents were William NEVES and Agnas [__?__]. Agnes died 8 Oct 1645 in Lavenham, Suffolk, England.

William Payne was for many years “lord of the manor” of Nowton, Parish Suffolk County, England. and was a descendant of Sir Thomas Paine, Knight, who lived in Leicester in 1400. The Paine family used the same coat of arms after coming to America as the family of William Paine “Lord of the Manor” of Nowton which he bought from his nephew Anthony Paine in 1607 for three thousand pounds.

William Payne, son of Anthony, was baptized at St. Mary’s , Nowton, Bury St. Edmund’s, Suffolk, Eng., 2 Dec 1565. By the will of his father he was devisee of a part of his estate, but being a younger son, he was not heir.

His oldest brother, John, having died previous to his father, his oldest son, Anthony, was heir to his grandfather. As such heir, he inherited from his grand father the Manor of Nowton. This made him “Lord of the Manor,” and such, owner of the advowson of that church, having the right of presentation belonging to that office. Anthony having his estate in 1607, sold the manor and advowson to his uncle William Payne for 3000 pounds, he being then resident William then became “Lord of the Manor”, and as such held his first court there on 6 October 1609, and his last court in 1621, having thus held the manorship 12 years, when he sold out to Sir Daniel de Ligne.

A manorial courtwas the lowest court of law in England during the feudal period. It dealt with matters over which the lord of the manor had jurisdiction, and its powers extended only to those living in the manor or who held land there. Historians have divided manorial courts into those that were primarily seignorial – based on feudal responsibilities – and those based on the delegation of authority from the monarch. There were three types of seignorial court: the court of the honour; the court baron; and the court customary, also known as the halmote court.

Each manor had its own laws promulgated in a document called the custumal, and anyone in breach of those laws could be tried in a manorial court. The earlier Saxon method of trial by ordeal or of compurgation was modified by the Normans into trial by a jury made up of 12 local freemen. The lord or his steward would be the chairman, whilst the parish clerk would write the record on the court rolls.

Periodically all the tenants met at a ‘manorial court’, with the lord of the manor (or squire), or a steward, as chairman. These courts, known as courts baron, dealt with the tenants’ rights and duties, changes of occupancy, and disputes between tenants. Some manorial courts also had the status of a court leet, and so they elected constables and other officials and were effectively Magistrates Courts for minor offences.

An advowson is the right to nominate a person to be parish priest (subject to episcopal approval), and such right was often originally held by the lord of the manor of the principal manor within the parish. An advowson was regarded as real property and could be bought, sold, or bequeathed; but following reforms of parish administration in the late 19th century it had little commercial value.

Advowsons were valuable assets for a number of reasons, principally as a means for the patron to exert moral influence on the parishioners, who were his manorial tenants, through the teaching and sermons of the parish priest. The manor was a business enterprise, and it was important for its commercial success that all who lived there should live and work in harmony for a common purpose, and should obey the law of the land and of the manorial court. Such a law-abiding attitude could be fostered by a suitable parish priest, and clearly the appointment of a priest who preached against this would be a disaster for the interests of the lord of the manor. An appointment could also be used as a reward for past services rendered to the patron by the appointee. A benefice generally included use of a house, i.e. a vicarage, parsonage or rectory, as well as the income from the glebe and tithes, which would provide for the living expenses of the incumbent, and the value of the advowson would thus vary according to how richly endowed the glebe had been out of the lord of the manor‘s manorial lands. Advowsons were frequently exercised by lords as a means of providing a career and income for a younger son who, due to the custom of primogeniture, would not inherit any of the paternal lands. If the father did not already own a suitable advowson, he might purchase one for this purpose. Appointments however were subject to the approval of the Ordinary (usually the bishop of the diocese) who could refuse for good reason although since the Reformation the refusal could be tested in the civil court.

St Peter’s church, with a good collection of late medieval Flemish glass windows, the Hall and most of the village to the south.

“Of the 150 persons who emigrated at the time William and Phebe Payne, son and daughter of William of Nowton, scarce half a dozen claimed the title of gentleman, or had the prefix, “Mr.” a title which he was readily accorded as the son and heir of one who had been “Lord of the Manor”.

The history and antiquities of Suffolk: Thingoe hundredBy John Gage, 1832

Lavenham, where William Payn and his children were born, is a village and civil parish in Suffolk 7 miles north of Newton. It is noted for its 15th century church, half-timbered medieval cottages and circular walk. In the medieval period it was among the 20 wealthiest settlements in England

Before the Norman Conquest, the manor of Lavenham had been held by the thegn Ulwin or Wulwine. In 1086 the estate was in the possession of Aubrey de Vere I, ancestor of theEarls of Oxford. He had already had a vineyardplanted there. The Vere family continued to hold the estate until 1604, when it was sold to Sir Thomas Skinner.

Lavenham prospered from the wool trade in the 15th and 16th century, with the town’s blue broadcloth being an export of note. During the 16th century Lavenham industry was badly affected by Dutchrefugees settled in Colchester who produced cloth that was cheaper and lighter than Lavenham’s, and also more fashionable, ]The most successful of the cloth making families were the Springs.

The town’s wealth can be seen in the lavishly constructed parish church of St Peter and St Paul which stands on a hill top at the end of the main high street. The church is excessively large for the size of the village and with a tower standing 141 ft high it lays claim to being the highest village church tower in Britain. The church is renowned for its Late-Gothicchantries and screens.

During the reign of Henry VIII, Lavenham was the scene of serious resistance to Wolsey’s ‘Amicable Grant’, a tax being raised in England to pay for war with France. However, it was being done so without the consent of parliament. In 1525, 10,000 men from Lavenham and the surrounding villages took part in a serious uprising which threatened to spread to the nearby counties of Essex and Cambridgeshire. However, the revolt was suppressed for the King by the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk, with the aid of local families.

The Guildhall of the wool guild of Corpus Christi stands in the center of the village overlooking the market square. Established in 1529, most of the timber framed building seen today was constructed in the 17th century and is now maintained by The National Trust.

Phebe’s husband John Page was baptized 25 Sep 1586 in Boxted, Essex, England. His parents may have been Richard or Robert Page and Frances Mudge or Robert Page and Susanna Syckerling. John died 18 Dec 1676 in Watertown, Mass.

At 44 years of age, John Page was living in Dedham, Essex, England, with his wife Phoebe Paine (Payne) and their three children, William, Phoebe, and Daniel. He, considering the conditions in England and fired by the thought of freedom and opportunity for himself and his growing family, closed his affairs in the mother country , embarked with his wife and children upon the ship “Jewel“, one of the fleet under the leadership of Gov. John Winthrop. They left the port of Yarmouth, Eng., on April 8, 1630 and landed at Salem, MA. Shortly after, they moved to the peninsula which is now occupied by the city of Boston. The colonists were dissatisfied with the soil there for farming purposes and many members of the colony moved to Watertown, seven miles west of Boston, where he was a well-to-do yeoman. He was constable of that town in 1630. In those days, in order to start a fire in one’s own fire place, one would watch a neighbor’s chimney, and where there was smoke, to that place he would go for a hot coal. Perhaps it was one of the children who had been sent on this errand, but whoever it may have been, he dropped the coal in the dry leaves and the house was burned on April 21, 1631, whereby John suffered severely.

In 1662 he was one of a group of Watertown men who settled the town of Groton, where he was one of the early selectmen. After the burning of Groton in Philip’s War of 1675, he returned to Watertown. Here John lived until his death December 18, 1676, at the age of 90 years. His inventory included a “Bible and two other small books” valued at 12s. His wife Phoebe died at Watertown, MA, Sept. 25, 1677, aged 87 years.

Nov 1630 – In a letter to John Winthrop Jr., John Rogers, vicar of Dedham, Essex, reports that

“this day I have received so lamentable a letter from one John Page late of Dedham that hath his wife and 2 children there and he certifies me that unless God stirring some friends to send him some provision he is like to starve”;

As a result, Rogers donated 20s. to buy meal for the family. Dedham, Essex, is a parish adjacent to Boxted where records of this Page family are found. The two children who came to New England with John Page are apparently Phebe and John.

21 Apr 1631 – “The house of John Page of Watertown was burnt by carrying a few coals from one house to another: a coal fell by the way and kindled in the leaves”

18 May 1631 – Admitted Freeman of Watertown

25 July 1636 – Granted fifty acres in the Great Dividend in Watertown

28 Feb 1636/37 – Granted thirteen acres in the Beaverbrook Plowland

26 Jun 1637 – Granted thirteen acres in the Remote Meadows

4 Dec 1638 – “Isack Sternes & John Page were fined 5s. for turning the way about, & day was given till the next Court”

In the Watertown Inventory of Grants John Page was credited with five parcels of land: three acre homestall; thirteen acres plowland in the Further Plain [Beaverbrook Plowlands]; thirteen acres in the Remote Meadows; fifty acres in the Great Dividend; and three acres meadow

In the Inventory of Possessions he held six parcels, and in the Composite Inventory the same six parcels: forty acre homestall (originally a Great Dividend lot, purchased of Edward Howe); twenty acres upland (part of a Great Dividend lot, purchased of John Coolidge); eighteen acres of meadow in Plain Meadow (eight acres purchased of Edward Howe, six of Robert Feake and four of Simon Stone); four acres meadow at Beaver Brook (purchased of William Jennison); seventy acres of upland, being a Great Dividend Lot (purchased of Simon Stone); and thirty-five acres of upland, being a Great Dividend lot (purchased of John Smith)

John Page took an unusual approach to the Watertown land granting process. As shown by the Inventory of Grants, he received the usual sequence of land grants down to 1637, when he had his share of the Remote Meadows, but he did not share in any later grants. About 1637 or 1638 he apparently sold off all these parcels which came directly to him from the town, for in the various inventories of Watertown land three of the five parcels appear in the hands of John Biscoe and one in the hands of Michael Barstow. The fate of the homestall is unknown, but this was certainly sold as well, and as this parcel carried with it the proprietary rights in future divisions, John Page did not receive a Farm in 1642.

In the Composite Inventory, which showed landholding as of about 1644, Page held only parcels of land that he had bought from others, and these were almost all in the Great Dividend, close to one another but some way from the center of town. Since Page received thirteen acres in the Beaverbrook Plowlands and in the Remote Meadows, and since his family had at most five members at this time, he must have had considerable wealth in cattle. Combine this with his virtual absence from town affairs, and the occasional rebuke for antisocial behavior, and one has the picture of a man of some substance who was attempting to withdraw from society, build his own little empire, and interact as little as possible with authority.

4 Nov 1646 – With others, he pled poverty to be excused from paying a 14s. 5d. fine, but the court, understanding that some of those pleading were “of good ability,” considered the matter closely

6 Apr 1658 – John Page of Watertown and Phebe his wife sold to Isaac Mixture of Watertown seventy acres of land, being a dividend, lying in Watertown, also seven acres of remote meadow in the third lot.

26 Feb 1652/53 – John Page of Watertown and Phebe his wife sold to Joseph Child of Watertown “one small tenement” in Watertown containing one dwelling house and four acres of land

May 1665 – The Watertown selectmen ordered several persons, including “old Goodman Page & his wife,” to attend the next selectmen’s meeting “to answer for not attending their seats in the meetinghouse appointed them by the town”

16 Feb 1676/77 – The inventory of the estate of John Page of Watertown “who died about the 19th December 1676″ was taken and was untotalled but included real estate valued at £50: “half a dwelling house with about twelve acres of plain and four acres of meadow £50

The settlement of the estate witnessed a bitter dispute pitting John, the eldest son, against Samuel Page and James Cutler. Cutler (husband of daughter Phebe Page) and Samuel Page claimed that John kept the estate entirely to himself and refused to make a division. The court ruled in favor of John, finding the estate to be his.

2 Apr 1650 – At the court Phebe Page sued John Flemming and his wife for slanderously saying that she was with child. This case illustrated a family at odds with itself; with the depositions of over twenty neighbors, it seemed that the entire town was talking about them [Pulsifer 1:6-8].

Flemming defended himself and said that his words were based on “the common practice of Phebe Page, & the report of her own friends.” “John Spring being on the watch on Saturday night after midnight testified that he met John Poole & Phebe Page together, and he asking them why they were so late, she answered because she could dispatch her business no sooner & he said he went with her because he lived with her father.”

Anthony White also witnessed that “Phebe Page said she must either marry within a month or run the country or lose her wits,” and also that “Phebe Page said my mother I can love and respect, but my father I cannot love.”

William Parker deposed that, having “much discourse with Phebe’s mother, she wished her daughter had never seen Poole for she was afraid she was with child.”

White advised her to return to her father’s house again and “she answered no, before I will do so I will go into wilderness as far as I can & lie down and die.”

Perce witnessed that “Goodman Page coming to his house said thus that what with his wife and daughter, he was afraid they would kill him, and constantly affirmed the same.”

Goody Mixture testified that “old Page said if she knew as much as he, Phebe deserved to be hanged.”

Parker again testified “he living at Long Island & Phebe Page there also, she would not keep the house one night, but kept a young man company, and they were both whipped for it by the magistrates’ order there, also that she confessed” and both were censured.

Joseph Tainter said “he was informed by one that lived at Long Island that Phebe Page confessed herself she had carnal copulation with a young man at the Island.”

Phebe withdrew her action, and the Court granted the defendant costs £2 4s. 6d. John Page Senior confessed a judgment of the costs of Court against his daughter.

v. Daniel Page b. 1626 Lavenham, England; d. 1 Aug 1634 in Watertown, MA ( The county copy of this record reports this as a birth rather than a burial creating some confusion)

John Page Jr. removed to Groton in 1662 and returned to Watertown in 1675 after the burning of Groton, as shown by the births of his children in Groton in the late 1660s and early 1670s.

James Knapp deposed in 1678 about working with John Page Jr. at Piscataqua, as many Watertown men of the second generation did, and how young John redeemed a mortgaged piece of John Sr.’s land. John Hammond deposed that “being at my Uncle Page’s house my Aunt Page was very importunate with my Uncle to give Samuel Page a piece of land and my Uncle Page’s answer was `Thou knowest it was mortgaged and my son John Page hath redeemed it and it is his'”.

John Page Jr. submitted his account of things he had done for his father when the younger John was a single man, having managed his estate for ten years except about five months when he was in Long Island, and about a fortnight “to help James Cutler when his house was burnt”

Christian and Anthony had ten children born between 1656 and 1669. Christian may have died in the birth of her last child.

Some of his descendants were: Rev. Solomon Stoddard, over forty years pastor of historic North Hampton Congregational Church and first librarian of Harvard. Made sea voyage to Barbadoes. Aaron Burr, Vice President of the United States, whose daughter Theodosia married Mr. Alston and was lost off the coast of the Carolinas; Amos Stoddard, acting governor of Louisiana; Jonathan Edwards, famous theologian.

vi. Anna Ayers b. 1630 in England; d. 1685 in Boston,

vii. Benjamin Ayers b. 1632 in England; d. 14 Nov 1714

viii. Sarah Ayers b. Jan 1635 in England; d. 1685 in Boston The Sarah Ayers that married William LAMSONin 1640 in Ipswich, Mass. was born about 1621 in England. I’m still trying to find out who her parents were.

ix. Jonathan Ayers b. 27 Mar 1637 Watertown, Middlesex, Mass.

x. Dorothy Ayers b. 4 Jun 1640 Watertown, Middlesex, Mass.

9. William Payne

William’s wife Anna North was born in 1595 in England. Anna’s parents may have been Henry North (1581 – 1654) and Sarah Jennor (1582 – ). Anna died 1660 in Ipswich, Essex, Mass.

TheIncrease left London, England April 1635 with her master, Robert Lea, arriving in Massachusetts Bay. The families of William Payne and Simon Ayres sailed together with 17 family members in all.

William Paine, with his wife, Anna, and five children, left London in April, 1635, for New England, sailing in the ship “Increase.” He landed at Boston, Mass., and set out at once for Watertown, where we find his name recorded as early as July 25, 1636.

Within a few years he removed to Ipswich, and was admitted a freeman, May 13, 1640. He resided there about fifteen years, and then removed to Boston, where he died, October 10, 1660.

Mr. Paine was one of the leading men of his time in New England. He was on terms of intimate acquaintance with the Winthrops, and other distinguished men both in his own Colony and Connecticut. A man of wide experience, and excellent judgment, he was frequently selected to serve on important committees, and to settle disputes concerning boundary lines between several towns in Massachusetts. He was an active merchant, and one of the earliest of the colonists to recognize the importance of home manufactures.

While at Watertown, he had acquired a controlling interest in Governor Dudley’s Mill on the Charles River. This he operated as a “fulling mill” until his death. In 1641, the town of Ipswich granted him permission to build a wharf for his warehouse. He assisted in establishing the iron works at Lynn, Beverly, and Newbury, and gave them his financial support. He was proprietor of the Saugus Ironworks at Lynn. He also operated the lead mines at Sturbridge.

He was deeply interested in extending the settlements of the English in Western Massachusetts, and was a member of a company incorporated in 1645 for this purpose, and known as the “Free Adventurers.”

Mr. Paine, after his removal to Boston, continued a prosperous mercantile business, possessing extensive headquarters there and at Piscatauqua.

Both William Paine, and his brother, Robert, were men of public spirit. While at Ipswich, they aided in establishing the free school there, and in their wills, made pecuniary provisions for its support, as well as gifts of land. In all his business ventures, William Paine seems to have been successful. He acquired a fortune for the times in which he lived, and died leaving an estate of more than £4,200.

Nation’s Oldest Charitable Trust

Huffington Post Feb 12 2012 – With only eight days to live, a wealthy, ailing Massachusetts merchant wrote in his will 351 years ago that he was leaving a spectacular 35-acre seafront property for the benefit of public school children, decreeing the land should never be sold or wasted.

The dying wish of William Payne, one of the state’s earliest settlers, created the nation’s oldest charitable trust and eventually led tenants to build 167 cottages — most of them used by summer vacationers — on the land he left for the seaside city of Ipswich. The rent money has generated some $2.4 million to help fund public schools over the last 25 years.

Now, the trustees want to tear up the will, convert the property into condominiums and sell them to the tenants to settle a 2006 lawsuit filed by the tenants over rent increases. But hundreds of Ipswich residents have gone to court to block the settlement, saying it violates the sacred intent of Payne’s will and shortchanges the schools.

The Massachusetts Appeals Court is considering whether to nullify the settlement and is scheduled to hear arguments in the case March 2.

The residents contend that while independent appraisals show the value of the land is an average of about $41 million, the agreement sets a sale price of nearly $32 million. They also say that the settlement also denies public schools the benefit of rising land value that occurs over the long term and that could help them collect higher rents.

Attorney General Martha Coakley, whose office enforces laws governing public charities, is supporting the settlement approved by a probate court judge in December, saying that the trust is no longer able to carry out Payne’s wishes.

Mark Swirbalus, who represents opponents of the settlement, said the case sends a “troubling message” because it shows the intent of someone setting up a trust could be trampled and the rights of beneficiaries could easily be compromised in decisions that do not protect their best interest.

“In short, the agreement to sell the land, and the court’s approval of this agreement, seem to have been done for the sake of expedience, regardless of William Payne’s intent and Massachusetts law,” Swirbalus said.

Residents seeking to block the deal have accused trustees of mismanagement, operating in secrecy and making sporadic and small payments to public schools for years long before the tenants sued over the rent. Disputes over wastewater and other necessary improvement to the land also fueled complaints against the trustees, formally known as Feoffees of the Ipswich Grammar School.

“The fundamental problem in all this is there are a lot of different opinions in town as to whether the trustees are sort of willfully evil or just incompetent,” said Douglas DeAngelis, an Ipswich parent and one of the 14 people seeking to join the lawsuit. “But, at the end of the day, you have a $40 million asset that’s never been professionally managed.”

Payne’s land gift was intended to help Ipswich comply with a 1647 colonial law that required communities with more than 100 families to set up a grammar school to prepare students for admission to “the College at Cambridge” — a reference in his will to Harvard College, founded in 1636 with a mission to prepare young men for the ministry.

The second paragraph of Payne’s handwritten will declares in flourishing script: “I giue vnto the free scoole of lpswitch, the little neck of land alt Ipswitch, commonly knowne by the name of Jeferrys neeck. The which is to bee, and remaine, to the benifitt of the said scoole of Ipswitch, for euer, as I haue formerly Intended, and therefore the sayd land not to bee sould nor wasted.”

Ed Cafasso, a spokesman for the sale opponents, said the plaintiffs are not only contesting the probate court ruling, but also contend that Coakley “failed to investigate evidence of the charity’s mismanagement,” including the fact that so little money has been distributed to the schools over the years as well as previous instances in which trustees rented cottages they were managing — leaving them with little incentive to set rents at market value.

The attorney general’s office, however, on Friday defended its decision to support the land sale, saying the trust had become ineffective in serving its stated purpose of aiding Ipswich schools.

“The settlement terms … comply with charities law and achieve two important goals: First, they restore a much needed revenue stream for the Ipswich schools consistent with William Payne’s wishes and ensure the long-term viability and sustainability of his gift in the future,” Brad Puffer, spokesman for Coakley, said in a statement.

“Second, they provide for a publicly appointed board to govern the trust that will be created with proceeds from the sale of the Little Neck land,” Puffer said. “This change will enhance public accountability and transparency for the trust going forward.”

Trustee Peter Foote, who manages affairs on behalf of other trustees, declined to comment.

Attorney William Sheehan, who represents the trustees, said the settlement represents the best option in efforts to ensure that Ipswich schools continue to receive funding from Payne’s dying wish.

Suggestions that the trustees have mismanaged the land “and this notion of ‘no, we are better off if the property is rented'” ignores the fact that the settlement shifts to condo owners the burden of about $1 million required to fix significant erosion problem that occurred on the land in 2007, Sheehan said.

The settlement also eliminates the uncertainty created by a potential liability from the 2006 lawsuit that tenants filed to block the trustees from evicting them from their cottages for refusing to pay higher rents, Sheehan said.

167 Cottages on Little Neck, Ipswich, Mass were built on land William Payne left to a charitable trust to help fund public schools

Salem News Aug 16 2012 – The trustees known as the Feoffees have sold Little Neck to the peninsula’s tenants for $31.4 million, the latest move in a controversy that has divided the town. The sale, which closed Friday, officially dissolved the country’s oldest community land trust and created a new trust that starts with an endowment of $24.9 million.

The money will be used to benefit the Ipswich public schools, which was the intention of the original land trust created by William Payne upon his death in 1660. “Twenty-five million dollars — that’s a lot of reasons to be very pleased that this will turn out well for the kids,” School Committee Chairman Hugh O’Flynn said.

But residents opposed to the sale say the 351-year-old trust should never have been broken and that the land was sold for less than it’s worth. Their group, Ipswich Citizens for Public Trust, plans to file a request with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to take the case, member Douglas DeAngelis said.

DeAngelis said the sale of the land “blatantly disregards” the intent of William Payne. The proceeds from the sale of about $25 million are far less than its assessed value of $40.6 million, he said. And costs to the town could go up because more residents will now be allowed to live year-round on Little Neck, resulting in higher school costs.

“It’s a triple whammy,” he said. The schools will receive $800,000 per year for the first three years under the terms of the sale, with future payments to be determined by a new governing board, known as the New Feoffees.

The schools had not been receiving any money from the Feoffees since 2006, when a legal dispute between the trustees and the Little Neck tenants over rent increases set in motion the circumstances that led to Friday’s land sale.

DeAngelis said the land could’ve produced much more income for the schools through the tenants’ rent money if the trust proceeds were managed professionally. The tenants own their cottages but were paying rent for the land. “In 351 years of the trust, we’ve never had professionals managing the land asset,” he said. “Let’s give it a try before we go and stick a stake through the heart of the trust.”

The Feoffees went to court in 2009 to seek permission to break the trust and sell 35-acre Little Neck to the tenants in order to settle a lawsuit over rent increases. Last December, the School Committee voted 4-3 to authorize a sale.

O’Flynn said the School Committee will not spend any of the trust money until a spending policy has been established and all legal proceedings are finished. “We’re going to be very serious and deliberate about any use of those funds,” he said.

The deal that closed on Friday transfers ownership of 166 land parcels on Little Neck to the peninsula’s tenants and converts the cottages and land to condominium units.

The governing board known as the New Feoffees has seven members, including two each appointed by the School Committee, Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen and one appointed by the old Feoffees.

The settlement calls for the trust to pay off nearly $6 million in outstanding debts that were borrowed by the old Feoffees for a wastewater treatment facility. The trust must also pay $575,000 in legal fees incurred by the School Committee in the dispute over the matter, and about $225,000 for legal and accounting costs incurred by the New Feoffees in its oversight of the sale process. The sale agreement also deducted $8.3 million in Feoffees-financed mortgages that buyers had the option to take out. The monthly interest payments from borrowers will be incorporated into the trust assets to benefit the schools.

“We did our best to do the due diligence and help the sale go through properly, and we’re looking forward to working as the new trust and doing as much as we can to benefit the schools of Ipswich,” said Tracy Filosa, one of the New Feoffees.

The new trust fund has committed to paying the schools $800,000 per year for the next three years. Filosa said the trustees will determine future payments based on market returns and other factors. “It’s a bit of a moving target at the moment,” she said. “It won’t be as high as $800,000. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be working on a projection.”

Filosa said the New Feoffees will be “as transparent as possible.” The old Feoffees were criticized for operating in secret and a lack of accountability.

Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or pleighton@salemnews.com..

William hoped his land trust would last forever. “Forever” is written across the bottom of the picture in William Paine’s handwriting.

Children of William and Anna:

i. Susan Paine b. 1624 in Suffolk, England; d. 1660 Mass.

ii. William Payne b. 1625 in Suffolk, England; d. 11 Jan 1683 New Haven, New Haven, CT; m. 1645 in New Haven to Mary Edwards (b. 1615 in Postslade, Sussex, England – d. 7 Dec 1693 in Connecticut) Mary’s parents were John Edwards (1584 – 1654) and Elizebeth Whitffeld (1588 – 1658) William and Mary had three children born between 1645 and 1648.

Hannah and Samuel had three children born between 1652 and 1654. After Hannah died, Samuel married 8 Dec 1656 in Newbury, Essex, Mass to Mary Oliver (b. 7 Jun 1640 in Newbury, Essex, Mass. – d. 15 Feb 1698 in Ipswich) Samuel and Mary had five more children born between 1660 and 1677.

Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts … By Massachusetts. County Court (Essex County), George Francis Dow

Samuel was a man of the highest reputation in civilian and military service. Representative in 1668 and often after to 1681, when he was made an Assistant by an annual election, continued in that rank until the time of the overthrow of the charter government 1686. In 1675, he had command of all the Mass. forces on the Connecticut River, and late in the season when succeeded by Major Savage in that quarter, was transferred to the expedition against Narraganset for the bloody and decisive action of 19 December (See my post Great Swamp Fight – Regiments). Resolute in the support of the liberties of the people of unlawful taxation in 1687, he was imprisoned by Andros and hardly released. In the new charter of William and Mary 1691, he was made one of the Council, though by the popular vote left out the following year.

In early September 1675 Captain Appleton was given command of a foot company totaling 100 men. He marched to Hadley, Mass. arriving around September 6th.On October 5, 1675 the Indians attacked Springfield destroying about 30 houses and other property including Major Pynchon’s, the army commander, mills and several of his houses and barns. After the destruction of his property and not feeling that he could properly maintain command, Major Pynchon asked to resign his post. This request was granted and on October 12th and Captain Appleton assumed command of all the forces in the Connecticut River area. He held this command until he was ordered home with his men on November 24. When the troops mustered on Dedham Plain on December 9, 1675 for the start of the Naragansett campaign, Major Samuel Appleton was given command of the Massachusetts regiment while also commanding the First Foot Troop. Soon after the battle of Narragansett Major Appleton retired from his protracted and arduous service from the field. On the 19th of October, 1676, the Court appointed him to command an expedition to Pascataqua; but he probably declined, as the order was rescinded on October 23rd.

He was reelected deputy in 1676, and subsequently, except 1678, until 1681, when he was chosen Assistant, and remained in that office till the coming in of the Andros government in 1686. He was proscribed by Sir Edmund’s officer, Randolph, as one of the ‘factious.’ He was arrested on the general complaint of being ‘evil disposed and seditious,’ October 19th 1687, and refusing to submit and give bonds for his good behavior, was committed to Boston jail, where he kept many months till his age and increasing infirmities forced a reluctant submission, and he was set at liberty, March 7, 1688.

iv. John Paine b. 1632 in England; d. 1675 Mass; m. Mar 1659 in Boston to Sarah Parker (b. 8 Jul 1641 in Boston, Mass. – d. 1675) Her parents were Richard Parker (1617 – 1673) and Ann [__?__] (1620 – 1651) John and Sarah had four children born between 1660 and 1664.

John was three years old when he accompanied his parents to America. He resided many years in Boston, and carried forward the enterprise begun by his father. He was active in promoting commerce, and received large grants of land for his service in seeking open navigation of the Hudson river and for other public services. These lands were on the Hudson river.

Fort Amsterdam is the large quadrangular structure towards the tip of the island.

John’s service to the English government in rebuilding Fort James, at the foot of Manhattan Island, secured him great favor with the local governor and the powers at home, in expression of which he was made sole owner and governor for life of Prudence Island, in Naragansett Bay, with courts and other machinery of a free state, in which religion was made free.

Fort Amsterdam (subsequently named Fort James, Fort Willem Hendrick, Fort James (again), Fort William, Fort Anne and Fort George) was a fort on the southern tip of Manhattan that was the administrative headquarters for the Dutch and then British rule of New York from 1625 until being torn down in 1790 after the Revolution. Guns at the fort formed the original battery that is today called Battery Park (New York).

Prudence Island, shown in red, in the inner part of Narragansett Bay

This grant was alleged to conflict with previous Indian grants, and he was arrested by the Rhode Island authorities and convicted of setting up a foreign government, but was allowed his liberty on giving up his claim. He died at sea in 1675. It is probable that he lost his property in litigation, as no record of an estate is found.

The Narragansetts originally offered Prudence Island for sale to John Oldham if he would settle there and set up a trading post. Oldham failed to meet the condition, so in 1637 the Narragansetts sold the island to Roger Williams and John Winthrop with each man retaining a one-half interest. Williams and Winthrop hoped to farm pigs on the island. Williams named the island “Prudence” and shortly afterwards purchased and named nearby Patience Island and Hope Island. Williams sold his half interest in Prudence Island while in England on behalf of the colony, and Winthrop willed his land to his son Stephen.

v. Daniel Paine b. 1635 in Suffolk, England; d. 10 Oct 1660 Mass

11. Robert Payne

Robert’s wife Ann Whiting was born in 1603 in Hadleigh, Suffolk, England. Her parents were John Whiting (1577 – ) and Ruby Jolly (1581 – ) Anne died in 1641 in Ipswich, Essex, Mass.

Robert Payne emigrated to America with his wife, Ann, in 1640. He settled in Ipswich, and was one of the persons to whom the Legislature made a grant of land “with leave to settle a village there.” He was admitted freeman 2 June 1641, and continued to live there until his death. His wife Ann having died, he married a second wife, Dorcas______, whom he survived two or three years.

He was a man of much usefulness and importance in his day, and one who was almost constantly called to the performance of public and private trusts. Being a man of good estate, he was liberal in its use, and thus made himself to be regarded as a public benefactor as well as a useful citizen. To such an extent was this the case, that the local historial of the time wrote of him as a “right Godly man, and one whose estate hath helpen on well the work of this little Commonwealth.” He sustained the principal offices of the town, was one of its original corporators, and feoffee of the Free or Grammer school, towards the establishment and endowment of which he was a most liberal and active party. He was the ruling elder in the first church of the place, and as the historian of Ipswich relates, “his profession and office were adorned by a life of active, exemplary usefulness.”

In 1647, 48 and 49, he was deputy to the General Court, was on the committee of trade in 1655, and held the office of county treasurer from 1665 until he resigned just before his death in 1683

Robert Payne, Jr., graduated at Harvard University in the class of 1656, and studied for the ministry. Whether or not he actually practiced his profession does not certainly appear, but Felt speaks of him as “a preacher.”

Many genealogies state Mr. Payne was he foreman of the Grand Jury that found all the indictments for witchcraft at Salem, but as far as I can tell, he became foreman in Jan 1693 and only returned findings of “Ignoramus [The legal definition of this word is uninformed. It is written on a bill by a grand jury, when they find that there is not sufficient evidence to authorize their finding it a true bill. Sometimes, instead of using this word, the grand jury endorse on the bill, “Not found.”] (See my post Witch Trials – Jury)

Robert Pike had a long history of opposing religious tyranny, for example, denouncing the law forbidding to preach if not Ordained in 1655, but the actual letter just contains the initials “RP” and the name Robert Payne was added later in a different hand, so an early record keeper thought this Robert wrote it. Here is a detailed discussion of who wrote the letter and here is another.

The letter is a tightly reasoned attack upon the use of spectral evidence and the testimony of the ‘afflicted girls’ in general. While the author, like all Puritans, believed witches and witchcraft existed and were the work of Satan, he was questioning the current methods of the court in determining credibility and guilt. The letter makes several points:

Citing 1st Samuel xxviii 13, 14: Any person, virtuous or not, may be in truth a witch.

A poor reputation does not suggest or substantiate guilt (as with Sarah Good).

Satan is capable of presenting anyone’s specter to a tormented person (not only a witch’s specter).

How can it be known if Satan acts with or without the permission of any specific (accused) person.

It is completely contrary to a witch’s well-being for them to practice witchcraft within a courtroom.

It is likewise contrary for witches to accuse others of witchcraft (as was the case), as “they are all part of Satan’s kingdom, which would fall, if divided against itself”.

It is not known just how the letter was received, since there is no written response, but with it he became one of the first of several prominent men to question the handling of the witchcraft crisis. Within a few weeks Thomas Brattle and Samuel Willard of Boston wrote their own manuscripts, using some of the same arguments Pike had documented. By October of 1692 the activity of the courts was greatly diminished, the executions had ended, and the witchcraft crisis was effectively over.